


Penitent

by SenselessVerses



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Forbidden Love, Priest, Religion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-12-25 08:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18257873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SenselessVerses/pseuds/SenselessVerses
Summary: Outlaw Queen AU. Robin is a priest that struggles with the desires of the flesh.





	1. Penitent

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Contains mild religious themes.

The firm clasp of the wooden beads leaves imprints on his fingers. He has lost count of the Hail Marys he’s prayed in the last hour, still, he holds his rosary as if his life depends on it. His whispers get lost in the church’s cupola above him.

Robin keeps his eyes closed, eyelids pressed with such force that accentuate the wrinkles around his eyes, it helps when forbidden images invade his mind, avoids the judgmental eyes of the holy saints that look at him from the stained glass windows of the church. He shifts his weight to the other knee, his legs ache due his position, but his resolve won’t make him move.

Yet, absolution doesn’t come; the serpent’s voice is deafening inside his head making him doubt everything what he believes in. He fights it with his mind, but his flesh is ceding, the vows he once took hanging by a fine thread.

He prays with more fervor and tries to hold on to them. 

_Forgive me father, for I have sinned._

It seems today is not one of those days.

Her smile taunts him from the church’s pews. He can feel her brown eyes watching him, they glisten with every uttered word, when others are absent or inattentive, she hangs onto him even after the sermon. 

He has known about angels all his life, has prayed to them, but has never seen one in physical form. Angel body clad in scarlet that torments his faith.

He wouldn’t dare calling her any other way.

Her name is Regina. She speaks of her sins from the other side of the confessional, about lustful thoughts she should not have. He watches her through the screen, her locks covered with a black veil that merges with her hair; a virgin-like appearance that deserves worship and no condemnation. The penance he gives, he takes for himself.

She thanks him afterwards and kisses the back of his hand in reverence. The ghost of her lips lingers all day and he tries to make a miraculous effort to not think about the tip of her tongue that brushed his skin.

_Mea culpa, mea culpa,_

_mea máxima culpa._


	2. Pagan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina struggles with her sinful desires for the priest.

Her shoulders tense as she walks through the large wooden doors. Multiple heads turn towards her when she enters; she’s always got the feeling that she’ll combust into flames the moment she steps into the church, she does in a way, their faces can’t hide that in their minds they instantly burn her at the witch’s stake. Their pious eyes concealing envy, judgement, and lust inside the sacred walls.

She’s a temptress, corrupting with her sensuous curves and red dress the sanctity of the place.

She’s a whore, their eyes scrutinizing every inch of her body; it’s her fault for dressing up like that.

It’s so easy to judge others to justify for your own sins.

Her right hand rests on her stomach—an instinctive way to protect herself—but she regains her composure and walks down the aisle with pride, accentuating the sway of her hips to spite them all; the antithetical procession of a virginal bride.

Regina takes her place in the nearest pew to the altar, but it’s not because she has a faithful devotion to the Sacred Heart.

His name is Father Robin. His sermons are of love and second chances; she’s mesmerized by every word. Regina gets lost in the movement of his lips, in the passion of his blue eyes as he preaches. When their gazes meet, she feels so divine that she could get down on her knees right there and worship him.

Unlike the churchgoers, he never looks at her with judgement; on the contrary, he makes her feel like the Queen of Saints—pure and virtuous, something she hasn’t been for many years. A fallen queen that once was lost and now redeemed.

She takes the Sacrament of Penance with him, speaks of the lustful thoughts she should not have, avoiding mentioning that he’s the one she’s having thoughts with. He asks why she doesn’t take the Communion; she always answers that she’s not ready, the black veil she wears concealing the embarrassment in her eyes. The truth is that she would not have self-control of having his fingers near her lips. Still, the temptation is such that when she kisses the back of his hand after Confession, she lets the tip of her tongue touch his skin. He tastes like nature and sin, of heaven and hell. She licks her lips to savor it as she walks away, fantasizing if the rest of him tastes the same.

Regina looks back when she reaches the church’s doors, his eyes lingering on her. He smiles, one of his dimples peeking through the stubble of his cheeks, his hands firmly clasped in front the apex of his thighs. She smiles back, the presented analogy reminding her of his vows, impeding her to reach for the forbidden fruit.

Every night she prays for absolution, but how can she be forgiven by her own rival? She wants to devote herself to Robin as he has devoted himself to the one above.

Still she enunciates with fervor every word of her penance.

_Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  
Amen._


End file.
